The End of Our Travels
by FaitoKuro
Summary: Kurogane has noticed that Fai has been worrying more lately. He thinks that going on to a new world will help the blonde out, though it turns out to not be a new world at all. Now Kurogane finds that he is the one who must sort his own feelings out... F K
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I haven't posted a story in such a long time that I feel a little out of practice! Well, where better to start than with good ol' Fai and Kurogane? I hope that you enjoy**

It had been so long. This was like a dream…Or would it turn out to be a nightmare?

………………………….

The months had soon added up to more than a year's time. A year of travels, battles, uncertainty, and deceptions. It seemed that the more time that passed, the more that stupid mage suffered, the more distant he became… At least the insufferable man wasn't refusing to be in the same room with him anymore. It seemed as though the cruelest times had past, though he had no certainty that the blonde would ever truly want to be around him again.

Kurogane grimaced as he slouched against the cold, steel wall behind him. It was dark still; he could see no sign of the sun through the small window in front of him. The faint sound of Fai's breathing reached him from where he rested next to the wall closest to him. He knew the kid and the princess huddled nearby as well, trying to get through another icy night in this glacial world.

They had already gotten everything that they needed here, now all they were waiting on was the steam bun's energy to perk back up enough to take them to the next world. Maybe then Fai wouldn't look so damn morose all the time.

Maybe in the next world Fai would find something worth fighting for. Or maybe for once, there would be a way so the blonde wouldn't have to fight at all…

…………………

Kurogane must have drifted back into a dreamless sleep, because the next thing he heard was that annoying high-pitched chirping of the steam bun. "Kurogane's still sleeping! Puuuu, he's such a sleepy head. Even Sakura's awake!"

Maybe in the past Kurogane would have seen the innocent teasing as meriting a good attempted thrashing, but now he a simple growl would be sufficient. At least that meant that the bun was finally awake. "Tch, _you're_ the one that slept for nearly two full days!"

"Mokona had used so much magic in this world that Mokona became sleepy! But Mokona is ready now"

Kurogane straightened himself up as he glanced around the room. There was no sign of the kids, but Fai was standing as still as though he were a painting, standing, looking out from the far window. The sooner they could leave this place the better; Kurogane could see that this place reminded the blonde too much of his own ice-filled world.

As though he could feel the heat of Kurogane's crimson gaze, Fai turned his head slightly back to look at the two of them. "Well, it would appear that Kuro-tan is ready, whenever you are Mokona."

"Leave it to me! I'll get Syaoran and Sakura, too!" The bun was still talking as he bounced out of the room.

"Well, he seems full of energy today…" Kurogane grumbled as Fai didn't respond immediately, rising slowly from his seat on the floor. "The same can't be said for you."

"Mokona says that he has a good feeling about the next world. He said that we're getting 'close to something.'" Fai fell silent for a moment as he looked back to face Kurogane. Seeing the dark lines and weariness on his companion's face, Kurogane would have been sure that the man hadn't slept for days, though he himself had heard his gentle breathing during his sleep last night. Something else was weighing down the blonde's mind, something that Kurogane was sure that he wasn't willing to share with him just yet.

"Kuro-ma, I also have a feeling about the next world, but I…"

"Fai! Kurogane! It's time! It's time!" The grimace on Kurogane's face deepened as the bun and the two kids walked into the room. Did they have no sense of timing?

"Damn manjuu, just get us outta here."

"Are you ready, Sakura?" Syaoran's voice was gentle as he took her hand. She didn't fight his touch; she just gave a small nod as Mokona began to cast the spell.

"Here we go!"

…………………………

Kurogane heard Fai's breath hitch slightly as his own mind raced. This couldn't be real…No, that untainted smell. That cool breeze. It was unmistakable. They were finally here. They had reached Nihon; the place that Kurogane had desired so much to get back to. He was finally back, finally done traveling…

…What now?

**There's the end of Chapter 1! Thank you for reading. It had a slow beginning, though I'm planning to pick it up a bit more in the next chapter if the story is to anyone's liking. **

**Hmmmm, I love comments, so please R&R It's always appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I would first like to say THANK YOU so much to all of the wonderful people who reviewed; you gave me the motivation to write another chapter. I would especially like to thank Katherine, especially since she is such a legendary writer and good friend. As well as kuroxfaixlover, whose review prompted me to finish this chapter and post it! Thanks!**

It was breathtaking. It looked almost exactly as Fai had imagined it would. Rolling mountains spanning out in the distance, ornate buildings that managed to look both elegant and inviting at the same time. Fai could see countless groupings of different kinds of trees, from strong pines that shown with a deep green to smaller, more fragile trees that he could tell held a promise of unsurpassed beauty when they bloomed.

No wonder Kurogane would have wanted to come back to this world so much…_Kurogane_. Fai had even forgotten that he was supposed to be worried about this. Now that Kurogane had finally made it back to Nihon, would there still be a place for him in the warrior's heart? Taking in a breath of the sweet smelling air, Fai made sure to repair his smile before glancing over at Kurogane.

If Fai hadn't already known that this was Kurogane's world, if he hadn't talked to Yuuko herself about it, he certainly would have known from the expression on Kurogane's face. The way that he really did seem to belong here.

Fai watched as Kurogane's face went from bare surprise to comprehension, but it didn't take long for those tan features to harden, looking away from the scenery in front of him and slowly meeting Fai's composed gaze. With the intensity of their eyes meeting, they were able to have a shared moment that left Fai wishing that he could have been able to fully understand it. It seemed as though Kurogane was just as fixed on reading something into Fai's gaze as he was on Kurogane's.

Sakura was the first to speak, her small voice sounding particularly youthful as she appreciated the landscape, "It's so beautiful. There's a feather somewhere in this amazing land?"

"Mokona can't feel it yet! But Yuuko told Mokona about this land! This is where Kurogane is from!"

"Kurogane-san? You mean we've made it to your world? Sakura was right, it certainly is very beautiful." Syaoran's expression was one of honest happiness for the man. It almost made Fai smile in unison, but he knew that he couldn't, not when he might be so close to losing everything.

"I had no idea that you were from such a wonderful land, Kurogane-san! Where should we go first?" Sakura was smiling as well, and Fai made sure to keep his own smile as natural as possible. It seemed like the only person who wasn't smiling was Kurogane himself. But that wasn't all that unusual, right?

"Come on, Kuro-mu! Tell us where we should go. I'll bet you'll want to go to the palace first, huh? It must be that big, lovely building right over there." Fai's voice was light and teasing; it didn't even show any of the tension or effort it took him to keep it sounding that way.

"Damn mage. What do you sound so happy about?"

"Aaaaa, is Kuro-pon angry? You won't be angry when we get to the palace!" Without another word, Fai took off running, still trying to look playful, but also wanting to just get away for a moment. He didn't want them to see his face, he didn't want to see that look in Kurogane's eyes.

"Hey! Mage! You don't even know where the hell you're going!"

Well, that didn't take long; Kurogane was already hot on his heels, which meant that the rest of their traveling party must be soon to follow.

"I know exactly where I'm going, Kuro-sama! I want to see your palace so that's where I'm going!" It was hard to miss. Kurogane's palace stood tall and unmistakably well-protected. The ornate architecture and sturdy walls made it a spectacular view and Fai hadn't missed Kurogane staring straight at it when they had first arrived.

"Kurogane-san! Fai-san! I think that it would be best if we were to stop and think of a plan! We don't even know what's been happening since Kurogane-san has been gone, there could be trouble."

Fai couldn't risk slowing down his pace and being caught by Kurogane, so he didn't even falter as he called back, "Don't worry, Syaoran-kun! We're almost there. I'm sure that even if he had been naughty, they'll be happy to see their big ol' ninja back again. "

The deep voice that shot out from behind Fai sounded unusually firm, though Fai ended up misinterpreting the cause of Kurogane's discontent as being annoyance, yet again. "Stop sounding so damn pleased with yourself! And knock it off with the ridiculous names; no one here would ever be allowed to call me such foolish things!"

"But Kuro-sama, we only have a little while left to call you by such cute names! Then you'll just have to go back to using plain names like everyone else. I'll just have to convince everyone here to use them as well."

Fai listened, but there was no response from anyone behind him. Whether that was because Kurogane had nothing left to say to him or because they had already reached what appeared to be the palace gates, he didn't know. All he knew is that he really would have liked for Kurogane to have said something, _anything _to let him know what the warrior was thinking.

Fai was pulled out of his revelry as he felt a strong hand land on his shoulder, making them both come to a halt in front of the large gated doors in front of them. "Kuro-pan?"

"Kurogane?...Damn, it's been a while since we've seen you around here. Lanji, open the gates. And inform the princess!"

Fai looked up to see a young man with long, flowing black hair that was tied back in a ponytail moving from the guard post at the nearest gate. It didn't take more than two seconds before the enormous gates to the palace slowly started to swing open.

Fai prepared himself to feel nervous, maybe even lifeless, but instead he felt a sense of calm, like he knew that this was a safe place. It was Kurogane's world after all, and despite being gruff and worn on the outside, Fai could tell that the man was one of the biggest softies he had known. Though the warrior himself would most likely die before admitting it.

With the gates fully opened, Fai could now see a small, but elegant form walking leisurely towards them. The person was a girl, someone who Fai had seem in a previous world. No, two previous worlds...

"Tomoyo-"

"Hime."

"Welcome back, Kurogane."

**Heehee, next time the plot to the story should be established fully. Thank you all for reading! And remember that reviews make me enthusiastic to write more. Until next time**


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